The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1887-06-24
NO. II.
INDIAN .ARIsTocRATs.
Traits, Manners and Dress of the yaris
Orders of Brahmins.

Traits. Manners and Dress OF the Various
Orders of Brahmins.
To study Brahminism, its mysticism.
its almost fatal influence either on its
deyotees or upon those wretched people
who are not Of that faith, and who from
that unfortunate circumstance are ae-
cording to the Brahminical theory no
better than dogs, one must go to South
India. There one win learn that the
Brahmin il an autocratie aristoerat and
that neither merit, nor wealth, nor
bravery. nor talent can place any man
not Brabmin on the same pedestal
on which crouches the meanest natured
man of his divine origin. And whether
he be Vishnu or SILVA the Brahmin is
an aristocrat One recognizes that
whatever may be his other qualities the
Brahmin is gentleman-a cultured
and intellectual man of the world, who
recognizes none as his superior and a
great many as his inferior. The Brah-
min is a striking example of the supe-
riority supposed to be due to the acc;-
dent OF birth, and the further south one
travels in India the more marked is this.
In Tanjaze, which Is termed the garden
of India. Maddura and Tinnevelly, does
the Brahmin most repay study. Here
under their vast groves the Brahmin
seems not To- have heard through the
dense forests the hustle of an enterpris-
ing world. His world is yet the tiny
hand-swept village, with the school
house where the pupil learns by rote
Brahminical nonsense and peculiar Eng
lish phraseology. for the Brahmin
knows that unless he learns English
| there is no chance for him to wear the
Government livery, which alike to Eu-
ropean and native is the highest aspira-
| ton.
The way in which to distinguish the
devotees of Vishnu and SILVA is not
difficult. for men of Vishnu wear on
| their foreheads mark similar to this
| 4, while those of Shiva carry in the
center of their foreheads round san
dal-wood dot, which is used by Hindos-
| tani women for the same purpose as
are the tiny black sticking plaster dots
| upon the fair faces of our ladies, called
.'beauty spots.'' The Vishnuites and
shivites also carry distinction in
their names. The former take the af-
fix ''Iengar' TO their names. while the
latter have Eyer" Not alone this,
the characters of the two are also diff
ferent. The Iengars, it is declared.
are self-sufiieient race, and are noted
for their cunning. while the Iyers sre
said TO be humber, more ingenious
and more scholarly inclined. As the
women's names are never known To the
outside world, and as they carry no
distinguishing marks on their faces.
they are known by their dress. A
woman of the Vishnu caste wears the
folds of her paijama tight across her
knees and thus displays a shapely calf
which may be enyied by any woman,
though il be hidden by the petticoat.
The SILVA woman. on the contrary. has
a loose fold hanging on the side of her
right leg, below the knee. The mate
rial from which her garment is made is
of a silky texture. yellowislI and red
il is but "a single sheet, and forms the
entire wardrobe of n noble Brah-
min lady. though her possessions
may be vast. her jewels the envy of
many an European royal family. and
her descent more illustrious and more
ancient than that of any of the crowned
heads of Europe. Many a Brahmin
/ can trace his ancestry for thousand
: years. while the family of Udaipur have
r records showing them to be over two
thousand years old. A Telugu woman
, wears her dress differently from either
: of her Tamil sisters, for she wears q
+ close fold in front. Tamil girls who
: have not attained the age of puberty
: wear a single petticoat, and as the
( Brahminical law ordains that woman
{ has to marry when she arrives at puber
G ty, it goes without saying that will
| marriage the single petticoat has to b
5 exchanged with the dh0ti. or man-forn
D of dress, and that she also has to veal
D underneath garments. So rigid are ths
; Brahmins in their sHmptuary laws tina
h they compel all other castes-men ant
5 women-to wear the pettieoat, so tina
!. the most casual observer may be en-
5 abled to distinguish at single glance
!, Brahmin. The Shivite and the Wish
a Mute alone wear the dhoti kind of dress
> being equal in all respects, both havin!
It sprung from the face of Bruma, tn
h creator There is also another sect o
n Brahmins called Rangi. who live on tn
;s Canarese coast, and are declared b,
e both Tamil and Telugu to be lament
a ably superstitious and ignorant. 1t
N among the Canarese Brahmins that tn
IT English have made less headway thai
5 among any other Brahmins--Cor.S Sd
f Francisco Chronicle.
Il